First timer--opinions would be appreciated

[katriscari]

Hi all!

I found this forum this evening while sitting online again searching all things WDW!! My husband, my son (will be 5) & of course I will be going May 7-13, 2014. We are going to surprise my son on his 5th birthday on Valentine's day with a box of balloons, a Disney countdown and a couple other things Disney for the trip.

I am struggling with a couple of things...the main thing is staying onsite for my son's first trip or staying off. We would do a value resort for sure if we stayed on. I am up in the air about the dining plan, but i do want to do at least a couple of character breakfasts/dinners. If those are included with the dining plan it may be worth it. Other than a value resort I could stay offsite in Davenport in a 5BR house with pool & hottub all to myself for $125/night....

Second, use a travel agent or don't? I also have AAA.

I would appreciate any input, since I am a newbie! This is going to be our first real family vaca!

 

[amym2]

Hi all!

I found this forum this evening while sitting online again searching all things WDW!! My husband, my son (will be 5) & of course I will be going May 7-13, 2014. We are going to surprise my son on his 5th birthday on Valentine's day with a box of balloons, a Disney countdown and a couple other things Disney for the trip.

I am struggling with a couple of things...the main thing is staying onsite for my son's first trip or staying off. We would do a value resort for sure if we stayed on. I am up in the air about the dining plan, but i do want to do at least a couple of character breakfasts/dinners. If those are included with the dining plan it may be worth it. Other than a value resort I could stay offsite in Davenport in a 5BR house with pool & hottub all to myself for $125/night....

Second, use a travel agent or don't? I also have AAA.

I would appreciate any input, since I am a newbie! This is going to be our first real family vaca!

Welcome to the disboards! If I were you, I would go with onsite for your first trip. Most people speak highly of Pop Century, or you might consider Art of Animation (although the non-suite rooms are Little Mermaid). I definitely would not stay in Davenport- that would be quite a hike. If you prefer to stay offsite, you get a condo or house in Windsor Hills, about 2 mi from WDW, for $125. We've done that with extended family, but when it's just the four of us, we like to stay onsite.

Yes, character meals are included in the dining plan. You'll want to familiarize yourself with the dining plan options and see if they make sense for your family. You could do the DDP, which includes one counter service, one table service, one snack, and a refillable mug per night of your stay. We've done the DDP once and enjoyed the convenience, but it really only saves you money if you plan to eat dessert with every meal or you do a lot of the more expensive character meals. It is generally not worth it you are doing character breakfasts because they are less expensive than lunch/dinner.

I prefer to book trips myself, but you could always look into discounts if you book with AAA. It's really personal preference which you do. Happy planning!

 

[treehugnmama]

Welcome

We go every year my kids are now 7 and 9 but they were 5 not so long ago. I would stay onsite if it were me. We are dvc members so we stay in a Vila onsite so we have the extra space. You could probably rent points for not too much more than a value but then you'd get to stay in a Vila onsite. Most of the character dining is included in dining plan.

First time we went we got deluxe dining plan and all we did was eat We were stuffed and wasted so much time! I would not do that again Now we only do the trex cafe and make most of our meals. For first time I would book 1 a day if you get the dinging plan.

We booked caa before we bought dvc and the nice thing was that if a better promotion came out they would book you into it. I would want to book all my dining though and well in advance. Lots of great boards on her e to check out

 

[Soarin4us]

Congratulations. Since it's your first trip, I'd recommend reading the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Disneyworld can be overwhelming, and that book will save you time and money!

 

[RCharnay]

Welcome! I'd recommend you stay on site. One of the great things about this option is you park your car and never touch it again. Then, waiting for buses, riding to the parks--it's all quality time with your family. All the way there, you share the excitement of what's to come instead of traffic;all the way home, you talk about the best things you did, stuff you learned, what surprised you...you get the picture.

I wouldn't do the dining plan unless it is really important that you have things paid for in advance. Just book the breakfasts you want ( I'd only do a few of those and space them out) and then be free to eat fast food when you want. Your first trip is really about being a part of the magic and taking it in with your child.

I agree that a guide book (unofficial or official are both good) is very helpful. Taking the time to get familiar with everything now (like being on the boards now!) will help you be more able to both plan and be spontaneous when needed.

Most of all, have fun! You can't do it all so don't worry about it and don't try. Choose your top 10 and be thrilled when you get most of them. If they all come your way-well that's your great planning and a bit of Disney magic. Good luck!

 

[Fivesacharm]

Too cute how you plan to surprise him! Staying on site is really the way to go for the *full* disney experience. The Value resorts are great! They are very well themed and while they don't have all the extras in comparison to say deluxe resorts, I think they can be very fun to stay at and they certainly add to the "magic" of a Disney vaca. In terms of value, Pop Century is great and Art of Animation is getting fab reviews (I won't be able to give my opinion on that one until next year Also have stayed at All Star Movies, which is cute for kids, but we personally preferred Pop...

I had my first experience with the Disney dining plan this past July (after going Disney many times without it in the past) and we LOVED it. Some people don't, though. It really depends on the type of family you are and what kind of eating you want to do while your there. If you want to do the Character breakfasts it could very well save you some $$$ We liked that everything was paid for ahead of time and we could eat almost anything we could imagine and not have to look at the price. We have every intention on doing it again when we are there July 2014 (and probably every Disney vacation in the future). Keep in mind you can only to the DDP if staying at a WWD resort, so that may factor into your decision as well.

If you have AAA, buy your park passes through them and your also save some $$

 

[MeeskaMomma]

We will be there the same time! (May 6-12)

We went thy same week this last year and the trip was so perfect we chose the same week for this year.

Personally, after staying on site I can't imagine staying off site. My husband had always stayed off site with his family and he says he never wants to stay off site again. Mainly because it was so convenient. The magic express was great, it was so nice not having to touch your bags after dropping them at the airport, and honestly the buses from the park to the resort were one of my sons's favorite things! We were also able to check our luggage at the resort for our return flight. And the cms were great!

Of course everyone is different and you will find people that swear by off site as well.

We stayed at Art of Animation and loved being fully observed in the Disney experience the whole time!

If it helps I just posted a backdating calendar to my PTR (link in signature). You might find it useful since our dates are about the same!

Happy planning!

 

[DanInMN]

For three people you really don't need a 5 BR house.

The Value resort rooms are small, the walls are thin, no slide in the pool, and no hot tub. If you go when a Free Dining program is in place you will only get the Quick Service plan, so no character meals unless you pay to upgrade.

Are you flying in? Planning on renting a car? Consider car rental cost, tolls, parking, and gas. If you stay on-site you can use Disney's free bus from/to the airport (Disney Magical Express or "DME") - no car needed.

For off site we have had a nice stay at Bahama Bay Resort in Davenport. Nice large condos, nice pools and landscaping. Full kitchen, and various restaurants in the area, so you may save on food vs Disney. It's about a 15 min drive to Disney. The price is probably close to the Values, maybe a little less - but you will need a car.

 

[souris]

I would suggest staying on site for a first trip unless ypu plan on doing non-Disney activities outside the World.

You don't have to worry about navigating through the massive Disney property. You can take the bus . However, if you do want to drive , booking with AAA gives you a preferred parking pass closer to the entrance of the park. There are also a few perks like a special meet and great and firework viewing area. My CAA/AAA office has a few Disney "specialists". You will not save money booking through them, however they can get a few perks!

 

[POOHsie]

I agree with others. It's a long way to Davenport. You can't imagine how worn out you will be when leaving a park at the end of the night. Last thing you want to do is wait for a tram to take you to your car's row. Then drive to Davenport. It will seem very difficult, plus you will feel yourself being pulled away from the magic bubble that I guarantee you will feel you're in when you're at WDW. Lots of Disney resort guests don't rent a car at all. They get the ME bus from the airport, then take Disney buses, boats, and the monorail to get around.

The dining plan is most likely a break-even deal. You know how your family eats. If you want a lot of dinner experiences, then go for it. If you mostly want to eat at CS places, on your own schedule, with a few character meals during your visit, probably paying OOP (out of pocket) is the best plan. You can charge your meals to your room card (or magic band), then pay the charges at the end of your visit. It's very convenient.

Count back 180 days from your arrival and make your meal reservations then. It can be very important to schedule as early as possible, especially popular character meals at decent times. The Epcot Flower & Garden Festival is going on during your stay. In addition to live music, there are food booths at the different countries where you can get small plates of food, very unique selections, and charge to your room card.

Disney resort stay means extra magic hours at the parks, free parking at the theme parks if you drive, and package delivery to your resort from the parks. So no carrying around stuff all day that you bought at the park. Also, staying at a WDW resort means you can take a mid-day break and get to/from your resort quickly. Maybe have some pool time and a child's nap, then back to the park late in the day.

For sure, staying at a Disney resort is the best choice. Look for discounts on these boards, also AAA. You should decide pretty soon before places are booked up. For a Value resort, I would stay at Pop Century. You can walk across the bridge on Hourglass Lake to AoA, wander around, eat at their food court, take their park bus, too. However, not too many single rooms there, mostly suites. They're nice, but pricey.

 

[katriscari]

Thanks for all of the info. I think I am leaning towards staying on site the first time. I do want him to have the full experience, as he is the reason we are going to Disney. I will look into pop resort, and then maybe if they come out with any dining deals or hotel deals upgrade from there. I suppose I can wait to add the food plan to my reservation until closer to my trip. I am sure those never sell out since we are flying in from Ohio it would be nice to deal with no rental car, etc.

One more ? About the dining plan....was going to go to park for 4 days but stay for 5 nights. The partial days we would go to downtown disney or explore the resorts. Would I still have the dining plan those days because of the nights we would be at the hotel, or does that correlate with your park tickets!?

 

[souris]

One more ? About the dining plan....was going to go to park for 4 days but stay for 5 nights. The partial days we would go to downtown disney or explore the resorts. Would I still have the dining plan those days because of the nights we would be at the hotel, or does that correlate with your park tickets!?

The amount of Dining Plan credits is based on how many nights you are staying, not how many days you are on the parks. There are great dining option Downtown and at other resort that accept the Dining Plan.

 

[pepe of ohio]

As others have stated, on site....we would never go all the way to Florida and WDW and stay off site (we're from Ohio too)...

We're headed for trip 50 this October, never used a car in WDW, don't believe in the dining plans offered and make our own reservations via CRO...you can reserve yourself with a AAA discount when offered... Mouse savers.com usually stays onto of discounts and codes...

Dining plans do not save us money, we do not like TS meals in WDW, they are mediocre at best, consume a lot of time and we don't want our vacation run by a food schedule on where to be and eat, especially 180 days out... As for character meals, 2 is plenty, anymore is just repetitious and overkill...

We're from northeast Ohio, have flown and used our car and taken Amtrak to WDW many times... Any other question, fire away...also, is possible, I'd recommend a moderate over a value any day... The extra money is worth it...POFQ especially !

 

[MeeskaMomma]

As others have said. I think the dinning plan is a break even deal at best! If you aren't going to really plan out your meals and spend a good deal if time pouring over the complicated thing I would do out of pocket. I cannot tell you how many times we were in line behind a family who thought something they had was covered and then wasn't! It always held up the line and the family seemed so frustrated!

 

[dissupermom]

another vote for onsite! a WDW vacation is very different from a Florida vacation going to the disney parks. I want/require a WDW vacation and the security and comforts of the WDW bubble. we have been at the moderates and values and both are okay to meet our needs. we try to go when the free dining plan is offered, but even if it's not, we still get the plan. the convenience of of it being prepaid, we are not worried about the price of each meal or what we can afford to order. I also agree about the guidebooks. go to your local bookstore, grab a book and a latte and enjoy reading and planning!!! you may not save money by using a travel agent, but the perks are good if you have one. my AAA agent is the best!! she was able to get us prime time seating at the much coveted Be Our Guest restaurant on the same night as the Halloween party! i was trying all morning, but she did it in about 30 minutes! she coordinates tickets, planning and all things disney! we are driving down do she is getting our driving plans and routes for us. we a detouring from the straight down I95 route! talk to a few agents and see if it works for you

 

[goofy4tink]

Welcome to the DIS boards!! You are going to get a lot of great info here.
Let me share the things I always tell people that are heading to WDW for the first time...
1. get a guidebook! I love PassPorter. It's a great read, it's easy to understand. I do like the UnOfficial Guide to WDW but it gets a bit 'big' with info that you really don't need. You could also get your ds the Birnbaums Guide to WDW for Kids!! It's the official guide book to WDW...my dd loved getting it for her early trips.

2. stay onsite! There is nothing quite like being completely immersed in the 'magic'! I love Pop...it's a nice resort. The walls are not paper thin, the rooms are not tiny. In fact I think they're perfect for a family of three!! I've stayed there 5 times now and have no issue at all recommending that resort! And I own DVC...so I do like my deluxe amenities!! No, there is no pool slide there, but the kids in the Hippy Dippy pool seem to be pretty happy!

3. The dining plan. That's a hard one. I no longer use the ddp. It's just to costly for us. Yes, we do one table service meal a day...either a character breakfast late morning or a regular dinner around 5ish. We do counter service for the other meal..either lunch or dinner depending on what we did for breakfast! Go to a site (I like allears.net) and look at their menus. See what you would probably order. Then add it all up and compare it to the ddp. I usually spend less per day than the ddp would cost us.

4. make ADRs!!! If you want those character meals, you need to have ADRs for them. You should be able to make these around Nov 7 or so. I do mine online at the WDW official site. I know it's hard to know where you are going to want to eat 6 months from now, ,but you really have to make some choices. You can always change your mind. I make ADRs at the 180 day mark and then tweak them for the next 6 months!!! I'm usually done tweaking about 2 weeks prior to my trip!!!

5. stay on these boards...get lots of info. WDW is no place for spontaneity!!! You need a plan! Sit with that guidebook that you bought and check out each park. Decide what you really want to do. There is no way you are going to 'do it all'...just isn't going to happen, the place is just too massive for that. But you can make a good dent in the things you really are interested in doing. Come back here with any questions you may have...about just about anything.

Have a ball planning!! It's a huge amount of fun to plan. And no, you don't need a travel agent. If you decide that you do need one, be sure they are knowledgeable about Disney!!! Many aren't and you get bad info. You can book everything online. Keep looking on the Resorts board for any great deals. They have all the info you need there. The Restaurant board will have any ddp info you need. And Transportation will give you info about getting to WDW as well as around WDW. And of course the Theme Parks board is great for getting info about the specific parks and what's inside them.

 

[glassslippergirl]

Hi, OP. Good questions. I'm usually an off-site advocate (much cheaper, more space), but for your first ever trip, I'm going to have to agree with the others-- stay on-site. You will experience more of the magic and enjoy the benefits like transportation. Consider off-site for your next trip-- and there will be a next trip.

We spent two nights at Pop in May with our 10 month old DS. We liked the resort itself-- very fun. The room was noisy, though, and there was just not enough room for the pack-n-play, stroller, luggage, and other stuff. You'll have less stuff with a 5 year old, but kids still come with a lot of stuff. You might want to look into the value of renting DVC points. Bigger room, nicer resort, kitchenette to save $ on a few breakfasts and snacks. If you do this, I would definitely use the services of a travel agent.

DDP can be complicated. If you are only looking at a few character breakfasts, then I'd just pay out-of-pocket. You can become a slave to your ADRs. Plan for a few that are important to you, then do counter service for the rest. Or, as others have suggested, plan one ADR per day.

Planning this trip will be fun. Be sure to leave open the opportunity for spontaneity. There is more in the "World" than you can imagine. Don't get so focused on making it to the next ride or ADR that you fail to see the Dapper Dans sing on Main Street or talk to PUSH the talking trash can when he is out and about in Tomorrowland. Disney is the one place on earth where you can see daytime fireworks and nighttime parades. Those things are the real magic. Enjoy!

 

[DreamerWDW]

I would definitely stay on-site and go with the Pop Century if you choose the value category. POP doesn't share buses with other resorts and is lots of fun! My family has stayed at POP many times and we loved staying there. As others said, keep learning on these boards and you will have lots of info for your trip.

Congrats on your first trip!!!

 

[kirby428]

How much can you remember about being a 5 year old??? So, I say work at vivid stuff, fun stuff, colorful stuff, happy on steroids stuff. Soooo stay on Disney property. No one else can build lasting memories for kids of all ages like the mouse. Buy books official and unofficial. Buy the TouringPlans.com for insights that pay off big. Posting questions here was smart. My youngest was 8 during his first visit. Never will forget the giggle-from-the-gut he let out at first sight of Goofy at the entrance of Chef Mickey's. He is 33 now and can not remember it but I can. Got my money's worth hope you do to. He still hugs Tigger at Epcot...right after I do first.

 

[Headed4Fun]

We surprised our son for his 5th birthday as well. It was awesome - he enjoyed the trip and still talks about it (almost 2 years later!). We stayed on site at Port Orleans French Quarter. I love staying on site and would highly recommend it. Be sure to add his birthday celebration to your reservation - they'll give him a pin to wear and he'll get lots of birthday wishes during your trip!
We celebrated his birthday at Magic Kingdom and then dinner at Chef Mickey's. I ordered a special cake and Mickey came over to help sing. It was seriously one of our best vacations ever - you're all in for a wonderful treat!